Word: fahd
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...arrived in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and the anchor of the Arab world--although the Saudis themselves will not say it. Since 1982 the country has been ruled by the formidable King Fahd, 75, a reliable friend to the U.S. who could be counted on to maintain stability in his kingdom. But Fahd's health has deteriorated ever since he suffered an embolic stroke last November, and a tug-of-war is already ongoing at the highest levels of the government. Although the King has tried to cling to his throne, senior diplomats in Riyadh expect...
After his stroke, Fahd transferred power to Abdullah for six weeks and then announced he was resuming his duties, but he has never really done so. He remains bed-ridden and in excruciating pain from back problems and arthritic knees. More alarming, his mind is failing, and his doctors do not believe he will ever recover. "His behavior has been stubborn, bizarre and unpredictable," says a diplomat. "There has been a decline to the point where essentially most of the time he is in a state of dementia." Often, the King does not even know where he is. "Basically...
...Saudis' problem has been to arrange an abdication that does not look like one, since an overt abdication could be destabilizing. The solution is to send Fahd off to permanent convalescence at his summer palace in Marbella, Spain. When Fahd is out of the country, Abdullah acts as regent. "What we are seeing," says a diplomat, "are the last days of King Fahd." Says another: "You can assume that if he winds up in Marbella, he is not going back to Saudi Arabia. It will be the Saudi way of handling the fact that Fahd is no longer...
...celebrity. But his star appeal swiftly faded when he began denouncing the Saudi regime. The government had already come under criticism from Muslim activists for its corruption and its failure to adhere strictly to Islamic law. All these failings offended bin Laden. But the real apostasy was King Fahd's decision to allow Western troops into the kingdom during the Gulf War. In bin Laden's view, armed infidels in the holy land were a desecration of Islam. After publicly criticizing the regime and becoming the target of a harassment campaign, he fled to Sudan in 1991. A sizable contingent...
...Rupert Murdoch are no longer the world's most eccentric media moguls. MICHAEL JACKSON has announced a deal to create Kingdom Entertainment, "one of the best global entertainment multinational organizations in the world," with PRINCE AL-WALEED BIN TALAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL-SAUD, nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. The Prince, who seems to favor working with troubled operations (he already owns part of Euro Disney and London's Canary Wharf), says he wants to provide the world with family-oriented entertainment, from theme parks to concert tours, including Jackson's. For now at least, attracting publicity...